Blood Sweat and Gears (BSG) 76/78/83

[CYBORG]

For the record, the 78 was the FIRST improvement, with a number of good changes, over the 75-77. I have both, and I like the 78 better

[Barney T Weasel]

What sort of paint did you use? Acrylic laquer or 2 pac?

[ehadams]

That HOK Candy Apple Red is gorgeous.
I painted my wife's shadow with that one.

[Norbert R]

I painted my wife's shadow with that one.

Hope you didn't get any on your wife

[Henry McCann]

Just beautiful!!!

[Motowalt]

Thanks guys...

Regarding the paint, I had a professional apply it and I think it is a urethane enamel...I watched him mix everything up on the bench but I couldn't tell you what he was doing with all the catalysts/reducers, etc...it's all black magic to me

I ended up choosing HOK which is VERY PRICEY, but the quality is top notch and my painter loved working with it (and when the painter is happy, the finished job is that much better). Even so, it was very time and energy consuming to say the least even with me doing the initial prep sanding...he started with primer/sealer then several base coats of silver metallic followed up by several coats (4 if I remember correctly) of the red candy till we got just the right depth. Then three coats of clear over everything with all the associated wet sanding and final polishing.

The number of final color coats is all a matter of preference, because inside the shop it looked dark red, but when we took it out into the sun, it just GLOWED a BRILLIANT orange/red/metallic. The pics don't do it justice.

[Motowalt]

OK,
So things are finally going my way...
Then, with the bike idling in the driveway…..KACHUNK!!!@@@!!!
The motor made a sickening grinding noise and stopped. It was now totally locked up!!! Dang, this thing is giving me fits…

I parked her and left her alone for a few weeks, all my enthusiasm and free cash depleted.

Finally, one day, I got up the energy to pull the motor, (for the third time)….

And I thought pulling the carbs over and over was a chore...

Found the cause of the lockup…a small 6mm bolt that holds the the scavenging oil pump drive sprocket had backed out and jammed itself between the clutch basket and rear case…after gouging the clutch basket severely. I thought for sure I had torqued it down adequately… aaarrrgh!….dang it…well, at least it didn't happen at speed.

Checked the oil pump and it too had been destroyed again…the rotor shattered and the pump shaft was bent!

Located a replacement clutch basket and oil pump from a locked up motor I had and put those in, using red locktite on that dang little sprocket bolt this time.



Reinstalled the motor, took a very short ride around the block and then the clutch lever went limp on me…no more power to the rear wheel…nothing…!

Ever tried to push a naked Goldwing from a dead stop up a long, steep driveway by yourself?

Aint gonna happen! Had to call the neighbor who’s younger son happened to be visiting in town and it took all three of us to do it…

Clutch cable had somehow become disengaged from the mechanism…hooked it back up and readjusted and she’s ready to go…

Putting on a few miles around the neighborhood, I can feel it loosening up and getting smoother with each passing mile….but need to get her licensed and out on the road to see what else needs to be done…

While I was accumulating enough free cash to fork over to the DMV, I sanded, primed and painted the wheels using etching primer and Duplicolor wheel paint followed by several layers of clear. I think they turned out nice.

[Easter]

And you thought the first one required patience!! Maybe you will finally have it all together for keeps. Looks really sharp.

"Ever tried to push a naked Goldwing from a dead stop up a long, steep driveway by yourself?" When the transit folks delivered "Matilda" from Florida, the rear brake was locked up about 75% and the truck had to unload about 200 yards from my house. A full dress 1100, on gravel, uphill with the brake locked up is tough too! I did have a helper though or I would have had a heart attack.

[Motowalt]

Thanks Easter,
Here's a couple of pics with the painted wheels and all the cosmetics sorted.

[wingrider]

Lookin' very nice! Is that a sportster seat?

[Norbert R]

Spectacular

[Motowalt]

Thanks guys,
Yup, it's a Sportster seat.
I had to trim some of the plastic ribs on the bottom to fit the top standing seam of the GL tank.

[77Wing]

Thanks guys,
Yup, it's a Sportster seat.
I had to trim some of the plastic ribs on the bottom to fit the top standing seam of the GL tank.

Very cool! Paint is awesome! What year/model Sportster does the seat fit?

[Motowalt]

Many of the Sportster seats would work, including the solo seat. I was told this one was from an 04-05 model if I remember correctly.

I found this one by riding my 76 to a local Harley swap meet...(rolling into the meet riding on a rolled up towel was a good way to break the ice..."hey, does your wife know what you're doing with that bath towel?" )

Several sellers had a good selection of used stock and aftermarket seats lying on the ground. I just tried fitting several until I found one I liked.

[Motowalt]

She started running rough, so I pulled the plugs and #4 cylinder was black and wet with raw gas.
Also I could see gas in the plenum after the petcock was on for just a few seconds with the engine running...if I would close the petcock she would keep running for a while, but as soon as I'd open the petcock she'd would flood and die...dang it!

Pulled the carbs (I could almost do that chore blindfolded now lol) and sure enough the cheap aftermarket carb kit got me

The #4 bowl gasket distorted and swelled enough to rub against the float and make that needle stick open.

A quick order to Randakk for his carb kit solved that issue

While I had the bike apart, I decided to splurge and replaced the 38 year old coils with brand new Dyna coils wires and spark plug caps. (the original coils and resistors all tested ok, but I had to trim the spark plug wires when replacing the caps and #2 ended up on the short side by the time I got to good copper wire inside...so they were due to be replaced).

Had to trim the air box intake a couple of inches to clear the new coils.

Checked the valves (two were tight), reset the timing and put in some new NGK's to boot.

WOW, what a difference! She starts and revs many times easier and now runs like a new bike.

With the hard work behind me, I celebrated with a Sunday Morning Ride through the Texas Hill Country...